"I can wholly, unequivocally and without reservation recommend working with you, Russ. I speak five languages, and I don’t think I can find the words in any to make that statement any stronger or more sincere."

What Changed?

First, my head, right-shoulder, and back were damaged so they were the priority.

Second, I had to retrain and get back into work.

Fortunately, I'd recently bought a computer and I taught myself to use Microsoft Word. This was while studying for my City & Guilds 236 in Electrical Installation.

I'd like to say it was quick, but it was slow going (3-years all told).

I Got Hired as a Technical Writer

For a company who created manuals for the Oil and Gas industry.

That was in 1997 and, after countless hours spent learning Word, I went freelance.

Between 1999 and 2004, every single company I worked at adopted my Word templates and document procedures and processes over their own.

Since then, I've helped around 200 companies improve their documents and processes. Helped publish over 200 books. And helped many improve their skillset with Word.

I also improved my own Word skills, building on what I already had. I also started digging deeper into the intricacies of Word.

So much so that in June 2018,

Microsoft Hired Me Write Some of Their New Word 2016 Interactive Help

They asked me to write an interactive document to teach users about formatting in Word (using styles, style-sets, and themes).

In December 2018, after a detailed interview process,

Microsoft Then Hired Me to Help Improve Their Own Word Templates

Yes, those very ones you rarely download from the Microsoft site itself:

(I've mentioned/made recommendations to Microsoft about how I believe they're neither following best practice nor setting the best example for their users with these templates. However, I'm still waiting to hear back from them on this one.)

“Five stars isn’t enough. I wish all my staff and contractors were as professional and good at what they do as Russ is.

Russ helped us develop great looking, versatile, stable, but very complicated macro driven word template. The quality of his work, time management, efficiency and communication are outstanding. We have learned so much we didn’t know through working with him.

He also adds value by providing short videos explaining what he has done, so we can now easily do ourselves things that seemed too complicated to even consider.”

"Russ was great to work with. He took the task that was handed to him and make certain that he understood what was being asked. When his questions seemed somewhat confusing, he made a short video to explain the issue that he was having and explaining in detail what his question was. This level of detail on his part made it easier to help him understand the task.

Russ is extremely knowledgeable and his skill in Word is at a very high level. He completed the task that we requested within a timely fashion and in line with what we asked. We look forward to opportunities to possibly work with him again in the future."

“I have to agree with one of the testimonials on his profile that says, “Makes me reconsider what 5 stars means for everyone else I’ve worked with.”

I’ve worked with many consultants in my career (both on Upwork and in real life.)

I’ve found that good consultants provide you with the requested deliverable on time and on budget while keeping you informed on progress. Great consultants on the other hand also do this, but teach you something in the process. I actually learned something from Russ in his initial proposal, before I even awarded him the contract. He showed me some problems in the document I provided for quote purposes, that I was not even aware of, which would have plagued me down the road. This also answered some long-standing questions I’ve had about Word in mind that I could never quite find the answer to.

Working with Russ answers once and for all, “what’s the difference between working with a professional/specialist vs an amateur/generalist?”

As a result of working with him, I have a new way of working with Word. I also now have an asset – a properly structured, beautiful, REUSABLE Word template – in addition to my initial request.

And if that’s not enough, he provided videos explaining his work and findings that I can refer back to as needed.

By using Russ for this project, I feel as if I’ve made an investment in my project rather than simply conduct a business transaction.

“Makes me reconsider what 5 stars means for everyone else I’ve worked with. Russ recorded videos explaining everything he was doing to help our document and how we could do it ourselves going forward. Teach a man to fish… Couldn’t recommend Russ more highly.”

“Russ did an excellent job! Not only did he return the work well before deadline, but also went above and beyond in comprehensiveness and explaining what he’d done. Will definitely be working with Russ again soon.”

“Russ was a perfect resource for developing a fairly technical and complicated application training guide.

The customer for whom we were doing the work changed emphasis mid-project, but the work Russ did is exemplary and we will be able to leverage both the content and the layout to great advantage going forward.

Being in vastly different time zones was not a problem for us, and he always provided the expected work in a reasonable time. He asked questions when needed and provided frequent updates to make sure neither of us were going in the wrong direction. He is a very high-caliber resource whom we hope to work with again.”

“Working with Russ was truly a pleasure! I appreciated his patience, insight and support in my first experience. I’m thankful that he chose to work with my project!”

Cametra Edwards, Ph.D, Author

“Russ Crowley is a true professional. I had to have a complex manuscript formatted in Microsoft Word for an academic press, and Russ delivered a perfect final product right on schedule. Along the way he was patient, understanding, courteous, and extremely resourceful in getting problems solved. I am 100% satisfied with his work, and I would gladly hire him again. He was great.“

David Arndt; Help Needed Formatting an Academic Book Manuscript in Microsoft Word; Author: Arendt- On the Political

Follow-up: 1st August 2018:

Russ,

A short follow-up note: My editor at Cambridge University Press has decided to recommend my book for publication. Thanks so much--I couldn't have done it without you.

David Arndt

“Yet another job done, on time and well within budget and to a high standard. Russ, you are a joy to work with.”

“This was my first book, and I needed it to be formatted for print and Kindle version, etc. Since it was my first I had a lot of questions about the formatting and also how to release it. Russ was very knowledgeable and able to answer my questions and was happy to accommodate me in that. His work was timely and excellent and small changes I required were responded to quickly. Overall I am very pleased having worked with him and would definitely do so again.”

“When you read the reviews of Russ they are all true. He will give you a 110% effort.

He is an expert at all aspects of computer file formatting, and is a perfectionist when it comes to the details & gives great care and pride in the work he provides. Also goes out of his way to make sure you know the correct computer paths to take when getting / reviewing / uploading information. Deal with him in confidence he’ll do an outstanding job. A FIVE STAR RATING ALL THE WAY AROUND.”

Andy Hunt, Author: 7 Ways To Get Super Sales Smart

Holy Cow Russ… I’ve been looking for you for years. Love, love, love (did I say love?) your video. You sooooo get it. I haven’t been able to find anyone who gets it as much as you.

Definitely going to hire you.

My editor is finishing up the book today and then I’ll turn it over to you.

Thank you!!! for responding to my post. And I look forward to working with you.

“Russ did the work on this contract in a highly professional manner and was thorough and on time. This was not a standard job and required a lot of self education to get an understanding of what was needed. Russ researched and learned all that he needed to know and provided relevant and concise documents. I thank him for his help and highly recommend to any potential clients. If you use Russ for a contract you will not be disappointed.”

Nick Miller, Blue Water Shell

“Russ is a highly competent expert in technical editing and copywriting. Russ was able to work as a seamless extension to our business analysis and software development team to craft and update detailed design documents and analysis documents.

His experience and expertise improved not only the documents but also our team’s skills and capabilities by showing us new and improved ways of crafting and editing documents.

As an added benefit, Russ works/lives in a different time zone which allowed our team to provide him documents at the end of a day and receive them back from Russ when we arrived to the office in the morning. I and our entire team, wholehearted endorse Russ and his excellent work. We will definitely engage him again in the future. Thanks.”

“Russ was absolutely fantastic to work with! He explained things to me that I wasn’t quite sure about and the quality of his work was second-to-none. I’ve never – met – anyone who is this much of a whizz with MS Word. There were things I was confident that couldn’t be done… and Russ did them quickly and accurately. Thanks again Russ… I hope to be able to send more work your way in the near future.“

“Russ was fantastic! Very knowledgeable and professional, he’s experienced enough to understand just what our needs were. He went above and beyond by producing instructional videos for my staff. I wouldn’t hesitate to hire Russ…”

“We engaged Russ to turn a graphically designed Report Template into a functional and flawless Microsoft Word Report Template. From the beginning of our engagement, Russ was professional, responsive and demonstrated his knowledge of Microsoft Word by asking questions to fully understand our requirements and what 100% satisfaction would look like. I am happy to report that we are 100% satisfied and will without a doubt be looking at employing Russ’ services in the future.”

“Russ helped us out of a tight spot, and completed a job for me that was time sensitive and involved a fair amount of explanation and guidance. Russ provided information videos explaining what he had done, delivered the work quickly and I can’t fault his communication. The project delivered was as expected and nothing was too much bother for him. Would recommend for future word projects..“

“Russ over and above exceeded my expectations. His level of professionalism and communication was second to none. Not to forget he was super efficient on turn around as well. Couldn’t recommend him highly enough!”

Mike C, Microsoft Word Template Creation

“A wonderfully completed job with excellent attention to detail, and even an explanatory video on how some of the work was completed (learned a few new tricks myself!). Will definitely have more projects coming your way. Thanks again, Russ!”

Michael S, Microsoft Word Template Creation

“Well worth the money. Russ sent a video showing me exactly what he was doing to my document. He taught me more in that ten minutes than I learned poking around on the internet for hours. Russ is super fast and knows it all. !”

Bret Boscaccy, Need formatting of "word" doc that was created from PDF.

"Job was time sensitive and Russ nailed it. It’s nice to have professional contractors, like Russ, on here that you can rely on.”

“Russ was perfect for the task (and perfect for most tasks, I’d imagine). He is creative, takes the initiative, writes with the right voice, illustrates appropriately, delivers what and when he promises, and even lets you know when he’s not going to be available. I’ll re-hire him once we get our next deliverable together, but in the meantime, if you need someone with Russ’ skills, we can’t recommend him highly enough.”

By far the most skilled contractor with respect to his mastery of Microsoft Word. I also believe his is one of the most understated profiles as well. My experience with Mr. Crowley far exceeded my expectations. Many freelancers claim to be able to assist with a client's problem but he not only quickly addresses the issue but also ensures you understand why and how he applied the solution. I will be coming back to him again in the future with more tasks.